Book Two
by Aramis M
Summary: "Ryan Hardy had been in binds before, but the last time he had been this close to the edge had been when Joe Carroll had given him his fragile heart. Even then, though, he hadn't had to watch a knife go into the back of the one person he had shown his damaged pieces to..." Set after The Final Chapter. Pretty much a form of letting out anger from the finale.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Ryan Hardy had been in binds before, but the last time he had been this close to the edge had been when Joe Carroll had given him his fragile heart. Even then, though, he hadn't had to watch a knife go into the back of the one person he had shown his damaged pieces to.

Time had frozen when Molly had stepped back into the light to run the blade into Claire's back and Ryan felt his heart stop at the sight of her twisted expression of shock and pain before she collapsed beside him. If his mind hadn't been blurred by his own sliced stomach, he would be mentally kicking himself for bringing her back here and for not seeing through Molly, who was now smiling down at him evilly, her eyes dark.

"You are my chapter, Ryan," she said again, unfazed by Claire. "That was the deal: I would help Joe get under your skin only if I was the one to kill you."

"Why?" Ryan croaked, though even that small word hurt. He glanced down at Claire but he couldn't see her breathing.

Molly opened her mouth to reply but his phone began to ring on the speakers below the TV. Ryan looked over at it and saw Mike's name flash on the screen. "It's an FBI agent," he told Molly, though he didn't have the strength for anything louder than a hoarse whisper. "If I don't answer, he'll call downstairs and send someone up."

She again hesitated as if to say something but gave up and went to retrieve the phone. "Put it on speaker," she said as she gave it him.

"Mike?" he said, hoping his voice didn't sound as strained through the phone as it did to his ears.

"Ryan," Mike said, "you remember the videos from Carroll's visitor log? Well we got facial rec on a woman, Molly Jones. She lives in your building." He sounded like he was trying to keep calm but his words were coming out too fast to hide his panic. Ryan was looking at Molly now and he could see malevolence quickly transform into fear and if he hadn't been bleeding to death, he probably would have smiled. "We already told the guys downstairs and they're just waiting on back up before they get her. Someone should be up there soon to move you and Claire to safer location. Okay?"

Ryan winced as he said, "Yeah, got it," but he knew before the words were out that Mike would hear the effort they took.

"Are you alright? You sound off."

"Fine," he said as his vision began to fade. "Fine..."

He slowly slipped into unconsciousness as he dropped the phone where Mike was now repeating his name. The last thing he saw before completely blacking out was Molly opening the window to the fire escape and Claire's still body lying in a pool of her own blood.

...

In that dark moment between insentience and consciousness, the only thing that occurred to Ryan's fogged and lulled mind was searing pain in his side and the insufferably clean smell of a hospital. When he did finally open his eyes, the only light in the large room was the florescent glare of a small light to the left of his bed. He turned his head slightly to see Mike sitting in an armchair with a book in his lap.

The younger man looked up at the slight noise and smiled up at Ryan with a sigh of relief. "The beast is awake." He closed the book and set it aside before letting out a nervous laugh. "You scared the crap out me back there, Ryan." He didn't say it, but Ryan could see he was thinking about Parker, how horrible it was listening to her die over the phone.

"Well I'm only alive because you called," Ryan said, trying to sitting up in the bed before giving up against the pain. "How long was I out?"

"A little over twenty-six hours. It was mostly muscular damage but you lost a lot of blood." Mike came over to the bed and gave him the remote. "Here, this makes a hell of a lot easier."

Ryan smiled a bit as he raised the bed inch by inch until he was sitting halfway up. "And Claire?"

Mike's face fell slightly and he chewed his lip while Ryan felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. "She's a little worse off than you. Her right kidney was punctured and they had to remove it. She had a lot of internal bleeding and lost even more blood than you but she did get lucky. If that knife had gone any deeper, it would've hit her liver and she would be dead. She also has a minor concussion from where her head hit the table leg, but nothing too serious. The doctor said she should make a full recovery."

Ryan took a deep breath and let his muscles relax from the wired position he had taken. _She's alive,_ he told himself. _You didn't lose her. _"Where is she?"

Mike nodded to right of Ryan's bed as he lowered himself back into the armchair. "The other side of that curtain. She's still out right now."

Ryan nodded slowly before looking back at the young agent. "You didn't have to stay here, you know."

Mike chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him. "You did the same for me. I thought I should return the favor."

There was a long silence before Ryan spoke up again. "Have you caught Molly yet?"

Mike shook his head. "No, we're still looking. She disappeared about four blocks from your building. We have an APB, but if you ask me, she's probably already out of town. We had two armed agents outside the door, though, so even if she _is_ still here, she's not getting in here." He paused before asking quietly, "Did you know her?"

Ryan actually laughed at that, though it was dry and verging on bitter. "Yeah, I knew her. She's the last girl I date."

Mike's brows shot up as he stared awkwardly to the left. "Huh… talk about a bitter ex."

"I guess if I had really thought about it, I would have known," Ryan said slowly. "She showed up four years ago, said she had read my book. Looking back, all we talked about on the first date was Joe. And I didn't think anything of it because back then, he didn't have a cult; he was still out sight and out of mind. Really, though, she was reporting to him." He shook his head. "Oh well. I guess this means I'm moving."

Mike nodded and looked up at him, smiling a little. "Well you should get some rest. I talked to your sister; she came by this morning and stayed for a few hours but she had to get back. She said she's going to try to come back tomorrow."

Ryan smiled slightly at the thought of what Jenny would say in the morning. He could already hear it, _"I never liked her and neither did you and you know that. You were just hung up on Claire and needed someone to fill the gap. Now look where it got you!" _"Thanks," he said to Mike. "Now don't be a hypocrite. Get out here."

Mike held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Is there anything you want me to do before I go?"

"Well…" Ryan said quietly. "Can you pull back the curtain a little?" He felt stupid asking, but he had to know she was there, that she was still breathing. He had already lost her once and now come close to losing her again; something in him was now under the impression that if he couldn't see her, she would slip away again.

Mike smiled and walked to the other side of the bed, pulling the curtain back about a foot. "Is that good?"

There she was. He could see a bruise on the right side of her forehead but other than that, her face was flawless. Ryan thought back to all the days he had woken up to that face lying beside him and he couldn't help his thoughts passing over his face in a content smile. "Yeah, that's perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jenny showed up the next morning around nine, starting her rant the second she saw Ryan was awake. She wasn't as loud as she normally was, mostly for the sake of the rest of the building, but she was just as forceful. She started with a dialogue almost exactly like the one he had thought up the night before, then she went on to describe how worried she had been when Mike had called, how hopeless he had looked when she had seen him the day before. After about five minutes, she came down from her emotional high and, with moist eyes, she came to his side and hugged him.

When she stepped back, she glanced over at Claire through Ryan's requested gap and smiled. "I knew this would happen," she said quietly.

He looked at her. "You knew my ex girlfriend would take a knife to me?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I didn't mean _this,_" she waved her hands around to gesture to the hospital room. "I mean this; you two falling back together. Let's face it: who else can put up with you without a family obligation?"

Ryan smiled and glanced at Claire out of the corner of his eye. She was still unconscious and he couldn't help but feel that tug of guilt in his stomach for putting her there. "Yeah, you're right. As usual."

"And don't you forget that," Jenny said, lowering herself into the same chair Mike had sat in the night before.

There was a friendly silence that fell over the room for several minutes before Jenny decided to fill it. She sighed and looked up at him, her eyes accusing. "Stop thinking so loud. She might hear you worrying about her."

Ryan looked over at her, saw that gray glare looking past even his best mask to the scattered mind behind it. She had always been able to read him, even when they were kids, and although he had seen her rarely over the past few years, she hadn't lost that ability. "You know, I'm the one who suggested bringing her back to my place."

Jenny sighed and shook her head. "Don't start playing the blame game, Ryan. You couldn't have seen this coming."

"Yes, I could have," he argued. "I killed him, Jen; I killed Joe. I should have expected at least one of them to come after me."

"But your apartment should've been safe enough with the protection detail. How were you supposed to know your neighbor was a part of his cult?"

"Like I said, I shouldn't have put it past him. He's thrown crap less likely than this at me, but I somehow overlooked begin stalked in my own apartment." He sucked in a breath and winced from the pain in his side then stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm himself down. "I thought she was gone," he said quietly. "There was a moment when I looked at her and thought she was dead."

"But she wasn't," Jenny replied gently. She pulled the chair closer to the bed and put her hand over his, forcing him to look at her. "Don't start to think you're bad luck again, Ryan. Remember, you saved her. You're the hero today."

He felt like arguing but he didn't have the strength to put up a good fight. So he contented himself with a nod and tried not to show how much the conversation was draining him, but Jenny saw it all the same. "You should get some rest. Your cute partner told me not to keep you up."

Ryan stared at her, raising an eyebrow at her reference. "Mike?"

She laughed at his reaction playfully and tapped his shoulder with her fist. "Oh, it was just a passing comment. Don't start thinking about it."

He smirked and turned his head, not stupid enough to turn over fully. "Fine, go on then. Get back to New York."

He heard Jenny laugh as she starting to walk out but the sound of her steps hesitated at the door. "Ryan," she said and he turned his head to see her staring at him with a sad smile. "I'm glad I still have my big brother."

Ryan couldn't help but smile back at her. "You know I wouldn't leave you like that."

She nodded and looked away, as if trying to hide her expression from him. "Yeah, I know. I'll see you later." And with that she left.

…

.

…

About hundred miles away, a young woman sat on a bench looking out over the coast of Maine. She hadn't wanted to come back to the East Coast, but she didn't have a choice. No matter how many memories haunted her here, she had to carry out her plan. And the only person who could help her was here.

She heard footsteps coming from her left and she turned her head just enough to see the figure approaching. She was tall and slim, wearing a heavy coat and scarf over her fluffy blonde curls and a pair of sunglasses on her head. Her eyes gave her a sort of cat-like appearance and somehow, the woman knew this was the person she was waiting for.

The new comer didn't look at her as she sat at the other end of the bench but rather stared at waves lapping against the beach several yards off. "Emma?" she asked under her breath before glancing at the other woman from the corner of her eye.

"Yes," Emma said quietly. "Molly?"

The woman turned to face her, putting out her right hand with cold smile gracing her full pink lips. "At your service."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Two days later, Ryan was released from the hospital but he was gone just long enough to eat lunch and only because Mike had insisted on it, even though he was beyond anxious to stay with Claire. Finally Mike caved and brought him back where Ryan planted himself firmly in the chair beside Claire's bed while Mike pulled over the chair from the other side of the room. The younger man had taken it upon himself to keep a personal eye on Ryan and, somehow, he knew Ryan needed it. Mike could see he was grateful to have company and he knew from personal experience that these things were easier to face with someone to fill the silence.

But Ryan still wasn't the type to give in to help without an argument. "You know you don't have to stay here, Mike," he said after about a lifetime of listening to the low hum and beeps the of machines. "I can manage on my own."

"Where else would I go?" he asked with a shrug.

Ryan looked at him. "Weren't you supposed to go to the debriefing?"

Mike grinned. "I did. Well, not physically, but a webcam counts."

It was then that his phone started ringing and he stepped into the hall, leaving Ryan alone with Claire. He studied her face for a long moment before sitting forward and taking her hand gently. She had woken up briefly the day before but it had only been a moment before she slipped back into unconsciousness. When Ryan had asked the doctor about how she had been down for almost four days, he had said that between the concussion and blood loss, the best thing for her at this point was to let her body rest.

Now, she shifted slightly in her sleep and mumbled something inaudible. He squeezed her hand gently and at the slight pressure, turned her head and her eyes blinked open slowly. For a moment, she just stared at him, her sight coming into focus, before she smiled tiredly. "Ryan."

He returned the smile and moved closer, still holding her hand in his. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged weakly. "A little sore, tired. Normal with the circumstances, I supposed."

Ryan nodded and waited a moment before speaking again. "Do you remember anything?"

"Yeah…" she said slowly, looking down at their hands. "I came out, you were one the floor, I came to help you then pain in my back and I hit the floor. That's about it." She traced circles on the back of his hand as she spoke. The only sound in the room for several moments was the clock on the wall as the seconds ticked past.

"What happened, Ryan?" Claire finally asked, her voice just above a whisper. Her blue eyes were now looking into his, all but begging him for an answer that he would rather not explain.

Ryan sighed heavily and looked away from her, deciding it was easier to stare at the ground as he spoke. "The woman living next door to me was one of Joe's followers. She came to kill me."

He heard Claire sigh and looked up at her. She had closed her eyes and he could just barely see her shaking her head in frustration. "I thought this would end with him gone," she whispered then looked back at him. "Have they caught her?"

Ryan opened his mouth to reply but he was interrupted by Mike stepping in, his phone still in hand. "Ryan, can I talk to you for a second?"

Ryan took his hand from Claire's and stood. "I'll be right back." Then he followed Mike out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Mike's face was even paler than normal when he faced him with a grave expression and Ryan felt his heart drop as he assumed the words before Mike had opened his mouth. "They found a body."

…

Ryan stared down at the mangled body before him with none of his usual impassiveness. He suddenly felt hopeless as he read over the message written in the victim's blood on the wall behind. _And so we begin the sequel. _

He should have known better than to think it was over, that Molly was the last loose end. He had taken their leader and now they were going to do everything in their power to continue his legacy. After all, the greater majority of Joe's followers were psychotic and those that weren't were the ones who had seen him as a god. He had given them a martyr.

"The victim's name is James Foster," Mike said, coming up from behind him. "He was a bartender at the club inside. The woman working with him last night said she saw him leave with a petite woman in her early thirties with short red hair."

Ryan cursed under his breath. The description fit with Emma Hill's profile.

"There's more," Mike said regretfully. "They found the murder weapon in the dumpster." He paused and took a breath before saying, "It's a kitchen knife, the same make and length as the one Molly used on you and Claire."

Ryan turned to face him, his face disbelieving. "You've got to be kidding."

Mike shook his head. "I wish I was."

Ryan ran his hands down his face with a heavy sigh. Two vengeful women out for not only his head, but probably Claire's as well. Just what he needed.

Before he had time to think it over anymore, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. It was an unknown number but he stepped away and answered it all the same. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ryan," said a familiar female voice from the other line and Ryan's heart began to pick up pace.

"Molly," he said, loud enough for Mike to hear him. He looked over at him then used his own phone to call Mitchell to get a trace. "I guess it's useless to ask where you are."

She only laughed. "How are you doing? It must be hard living without Claire."

Ryan hesitated. Did she really not know Claire was alive? "I've been better."

He could practically hear her smiling. "Don't lie to yourself, Ryan. You have too much of a heart for that." He began to reply but she cut him off quickly. "Well I have to go; there's some unfinished business I have to deal with." And with that, the line went dead.

Ryan felt panic hit him and he spun around to face Mike. "Send someone to check on Claire, now! I wanted an armed guard outside of her room."'

"Already done," Mike said. "Mitchell called it in. She said the signal went to payphone a few blocks from here. We sent some guys over but she'll be long gone by the time they get there."

A few minutes later, the agents sent to check the payphone confirmed Mike's thought. They were officially back to square one. Only this time, there was no leader to control the chaos.

"So what are you thinking?" Mike asked after telling him they hadn't found her.

Ryan sighed heavily, praying to God his next words weren't true. "I think we have two skilled killers on the lose together making sure that the world knows that Joe Carroll is anything but dead. With our luck, they'll eventually make a public statement to awaken the cult's pain and turn into rage and then..." he paused, not really wanting to hear his own words.

Mike continued to stare at him. "Then what?"

Ryan shook his head and looked at the body being lifted onto a stretcher a few yards away. "Then we'll be worse off than before because at least Joe kept it controlled. This time... This time, they won't stop and we'll be dealing with an uncontrolled massacre."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Mike and Ryan were talking to one of the forensic people when a tall stiff looking man approached them. He was probably in his late thirties, maybe early forties with short black hair and a determined expression. Ryan sighed inwardly, recognizing the air of an FBI top-dog on the man, and braced himself for whatever was about to come from his mouth.

"Gentlemen," the man said putting his hand out first to Ryan then Mike. "I'm Agent Jackson Lawson. I will be taking Agent Donovan's seat in this investigation."

Ryan and Mike both introduced themselves before Lawson smiled tightly at Mike and asked, "Would you mind excusing Mr. Hardy and I for a moment?"

Mike glanced at Ryan before nodding and stepping aside. Lawson watched him walk away and answer his phone before starting down the alley and beckoning Ryan to follow. Once they were far enough out of earshot, Lawson turned to Ryan. "You have quite the loyal puppy there."

Ryan shrugged the comment away. "Mike's a good kid."

Lawson nodded before becoming serious. "There isn't really easy way to say this, Hardy, but you're done. You're off this case."

Ryan forced himself to swallow the first reply that came to mind and instead continued to stare back at the other man. "May I ask why?"

Lawson must have seen the momentary anger but he chose to ignore it and continue with his composed look. "Listen, you were invaluable in finding Carroll, I can say that without any sugar coating. But Carroll is gone and all that's left now are a few little fires to put out. Besides, you're already out with that injury and in the time it takes you to heal, we should have the last of this cleaned up."

There was a moment of silence between them before Ryan shook his head. "You honestly think you can get this 'cleaned up' that quickly?" he asked darkly. "This is a group of cult members who now have a martyr to commemorate. They have no intentions of giving up as easily as you think they will."

Lawson's expression remained impassive as he nodded again, almost too politely. "And if that happens, we may ask for your assistance and you can tell me I was wrong. But until then, you are off the case, and that also means off my crime scene." With that, he walked off, leaving Ryan fuming inside as Mike came up to him.

"I'm going to guess the news isn't good?" he asked, obviously seeing some of Ryan's unchecked rage in his eyes.

"I'm off the case," Ryan said bluntly.

Mike stared at him, shocked by the turn of events. "You can't be serious."

Ryan shrugged and snorted disdainfully. "I wish. He said I have to heal and in that amount of time, he should have it all finished," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Mike raised his eyebrows. "He's crazy. Has he read this case file? These are psychos we're talking about here, several of which we know were in personal contact with Carroll."

"You and I know that but he's not willing to budge on it." Ryan shook his head dejectedly. "Oh well. I guess I have to go back to retirement."

Mike chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. "Well… not entirely."

Ryan looked at him, now raising his own brows. "Excuse me?"

The younger man looked at him, more than a little guiltily. "Well, you see, Joey Matthews is boarding a plane from D.C to here as we speak."

"But Claire won't be out of the hospital for at least a few more days," Ryan argued and Mike raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I know that, but D.C can't hold him and he's insisting on coming here."

"And where the hell is he going to stay?" Ryan asked incredulously.

Mike only smiled apologetically in reply and after a second, Ryan saw what he was saying. "Dammit."

…

"Well here we are," Ryan said, opening the door to his apartment for Joey. The nine year old boy looked around the dark loft with mild curiosity before stepping inside with his backpack in tow. Ryan followed behind him and pointed out where everything was before the little boy disappeared into the bathroom. While he was gone, Ryan looked through his cabinets, hoping there was something edible in one of them, while he avoided stepping on the slightly darker patches of wood beside the table. The forensic crew had cleaned up as best as they could but the worn wooden floors had been stained by both his and Claire's blood in the hours it sat there before it was finally wiped up.

Joey came out before he had found anything, though. The boy silently watched him dig through his kitchen and took a seat quietly at the table without Ryan noticing. Finally, he found a box of spaghetti and turned. When he saw Joey, he held out the box with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, bud. I don't have anything else unless you want to order something."

Joey shrugged carelessly. "Spaghetti's fine, as long as I don't have to eat it with sauce."

Ryan smiled before pulling out a pot from a lower cabinet. "Well you're in luck; I don't have sauce."

He filled the pot with water then set it on the stove to boil while Joey watched him. "When do I get to see my mom?" he asked after Ryan had finished and leaned against the counter.

"First thing tomorrow," Ryan said.

Joey nodded, content with the answer. He was quiet for a while, tracing lines on the wood of the table abstractedly. "Mr. Hardy?" he asked quietly, then hesitated.

Ryan, who had been checking the water behind him, looked at the boy. "Yeah, Joey?"

"Is my dad really dead?"

The question hung in the silence of the small apartment and seemed to echo off the walls as Ryan tried to think of how to answer. "Well…" he said, biting his lip. He sighed and looked at the boy who was staring back at him with the same look, same eyes as Claire had earlier that day. "Yeah... Yeah, Joey, your dad is dead."

Joey exhaled quietly and nodded again. He wasn't looking at Ryan anymore but rather at the table in front of him, and Ryan couldn't tell what he saw on that young face. Relief? Sadness? He had never been very good at reading kids.

"He scared me," the boy finally said, still staring down. "I tried to like him, because he was my dad, but I couldn't." He looked up at Ryan now, his brows furrowed together. "Is that bad? That I didn't like my own dad?"

Ryan shook his head, hoping the young boy would understand his reply. "No, that's not bad. Your dad was a bad guy and he hurt a lot of people. You didn't have to like him."

Joey continued to stare at him before asking, "Did he ever hurt you?"

Ryan hesitated again at the question. He was tempted not to answer but looking at Joey was like looking at Claire and he had never been able to ignore her questions, either. "Yeah, you could say that."

"How?"

The water in the pot began to boil and Ryan turned to put the pasta in, partially to keep from looking at the boy at his table. He had never been around kids enough to understand what people meant by 'the question stage' but now he was beginning to get a glimpse of it. He had no idea how to answer that; he didn't know how much the boy knew about his father or how much to tell him without scaring him more. The kid didn't deserve that, even if it was the truth.

"Let's just say he did something to my heart," Ryan finally said, more than a little hesitant. "I had to have a machine put in my chest to keep it going."

To his surprise, Joey didn't really react to this. He just looked at him with a light of sympathy in his eyes and nodded again, going silent.

After a while, Ryan stirred the spaghetti for a few more minutes before testing it and finding it was done. Joey didn't say anything else throughout dinner and once he was finished, he went to bathroom to change while Ryan washed the dishes. When he came out, he waited for Ryan to finish before asking where he was sleeping and Ryan gestured to the bed.

"But where will you sleep?" he asked after looking glancing first at the bed then around the apartment.

Ryan shrugged. "I'll take the couch. It won't be the first time."

"That doesn't make sense, though," Joey argued, almost inncocently. "The couch is smaller than the bed, and I'm smaller than you so I should sleep on the couch."

Ryan smiled and held back a laughed. He wondered idly if this was actually Joey's form of logic or if he was just trying to be less of a bother. "But you're also the guest and it's my job as the host to take the shorter end on the stick."

Joey blinked and stared at him before confirming Ryan's second thought, "But I'm asking, as the guest, to sleep on the couch."

Ryan couldn't help it any longer; he had to laugh. "What's so funny?" Joey asked suspiciously.

Ryan shook his head and smiled down at the boy. "You sound just like your mom," he said. "Come on, let me get some pillows and a blanket so can have the couch."

After a few minutes, the couch was made up and Joey was snuggled in comfortably. But before Ryan could walk away to turn out the lights, a small voice asked, "Mr. Hardy?"

"Yeah, Joey?"

He turned back and saw the boy looking at him from above the blankets pulled up to his chin. "Thanks."

"For what?" Ryan asked quietly.

"For everything," Joey said with a shy smile. "For saving me, for saving my mom, for letting me stay here." He paused and looked away, no longer smiling. "For stopping my dad," he added quietly.

"You're welcome, Joey." Ryan smiled slightly at him, hoping the boy didn't see the worry in his eyes. He hadn't stopped Joe; not yet, anyway. There were still people out there killing in his name and he was no longer able to help stop them. But Joey didn't know that, nor did he ever need to.

.

...

.

**A/N:** Let me apologize for not updating. And for writing a pretty boring chapter. I promise it will get more interesting. Also, thoughts on Joey? I've noticed that Claire is one of the few people in the show that will really argue with Ryan so I thought it made sense for a bit of that to have worn off on her son. Plus, I've always been a little curious as to how well Ryan and Joey get along and this is pretty much how I've pictured it in my mind.

Thank you all for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – And So It Begins

Mike was driving several miles above the speed limit on his way to the FBI building in Manhattan. He had gotten a call about an hour earlier from Mitchell asking him to come in before she dropped the bomb that they had cracked Joe's laptop. Mike wasn't really one to have road rage but one hour from Brooklyn to downtown Manhattan was insane, even for a California boy, and he was losing patience quickly.

When he did finally make it there and parked, he ran in, getting lost only once before finding the tech room. He saw the new guy, Lawson, looking over Mitchell's shoulder as she worked her magic and opened the main page of Joe's laptop.

Mitchell looked up as Mike entered the room and smiled dryly. "Just in time." She turned back to the computer as she spoke. "We found some pretty nasty stuff on here. There are about twenty videos of Ryan and Molly. Our guess is Joe asked her to film it for one of his twisted ideas. But there was something else much bigger in an email his account received last night."

She clicked a few times and a video popped up. It was Joe. He was seated in the living room of the lighthouse, knees crossed and hands folded on his lap, calm as could be.

"Hello, again," he said with his charming smile. "If you are watching this, then I hate to say that the finale chapter did not turn out my favor, thanks to our good friend Ryan Hardy. But this also means that Ryan is alive and well, and Molly was not able to finish the job." He shrugged apologetically, as if he was talking about taking out the trash rather than the life of another human being. "Then again, this tells me that by now, Ryan is off the case because honestly, who needs a third wheel for the tiny job of cleaning up my mess?"

He uncrossed his legs and forward in his chair, smiling but serious. "I can assure you, however, that you will be asking for his help quite soon." he sat back again, going back to his comfortable state. "I'm sure by now you have a pretty good idea of what is going on but I'll fill you anyway. If you will please click on the link attached to the end of this video, you will see, in full detail, exactly what has happened thus far into our sequel and what is bound to happen in the near future." He flashed the camera a perfect smiling before adding, "And please tell Ryan that he may have taken me out the physical world, but I am still very capable of writing the second book."

On that note, the screen went to black with a link glowing against the dark background. Mitchell clicked it and it pulled up a document; or more precisely, a title page to a book.

The Curse

Book Two: The Revenge

By Joe Carroll

Mike sat back, staring at the words before him. "Have you read it?"

Mitchell nodded slowly. "He predicted his own death, down to how many shots Ryan fired and the number of punches he took from Carroll. He even counted the seconds it took for the boathouse to explode."

"That's impossible," Lawson said. "Emma or Molly could have written it."

Mitchell looked up at him. "Sir, we have confirmation from the coastguard that neither one of them could have been anywhere near lighthouse when Joe died. Besides, this still says that Mike is dead like in his other book."

"Well does he say what they do next?" Mike asked, hoping Carroll may have given too much away.

Mitchell shook her head sadly. "All he says after talking about Molly attacking Ryan and Claire is that the cult comes together by Emma and Molly and through their actions, he is resurrected."

Mike sighed and finally stepped away, turning his back on the screen. This was not what he had hoped for this morning. But he couldn't just let it go to the back of his mind so he started for the door.

"Weston," Lawson said when he said him leaving. "Where do you think you're going?"

Mike didn't even look over his shoulder at him. "You heard Carroll; Hardy is part of the new game, too. And if you won't ask him for help, I will."

…

"You never answered my question yesterday, Ryan," Claire said quietly. Ryan had brought Joey in about three hours before and after a tearful reunion, the mentally exhausted boy had curled up next to his mother on the bed before falling asleep.

Ryan looked up at her. She was looking better today; she had more color to her face, her eyes were alert and she was getting stronger. But she wasn't quite herself again and the doctors were saying she would be in for at least a few more days. "Which one?" he finally asked, though he knew full well what she was talking about.

She sighed in exasperation, seeing the answer in his attempt to avoid stall her. "They haven't caught her, have they?"

Ryan shook his head sadly. "No. No, she's still out there."

"What about Emma?" Claire asked while she tried not to show how worried she was. "She was second only to Joe in the whole thing."

"I don't think you want to hear that answer," Ryan said regretfully but he caved under her stare. "They found a body yesterday and evidence says that Molly and Emma are working together. If they can't find them, they may start a riot within the cult."

Claire bit her lip and looked away. "You said 'they'," she said quietly and Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, I did. I'm not on the case anymore."

She looked back at him, her eyes sympathetic. "That has to hurt."

He shrugged and hoped he looked half as careless as he would've like. "It's a sting, but that means I have time again."

She smiled. "That's right. And didn't you say you were moving?"

He returned the smile but before he could reply there was a knock on the door and Ryan looked over his shoulder just as Mike walked in. "You know, you have the worst timing, lately," he said and Mike shrugged.

"It's not really my fault. Traffic is a bitch today." He smiled at Claire. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled back and shrugged. "Sore, mostly, but better." She rubbed Joey's back and he shifted slightly in his sleep. "But I know from that look you didn't come just to check on me."

His smile became apologetic and he looked at Ryan. "Can I talk to you in the hall?"

Once they were both on the other side of the closed door, Ryan turned to Mike.

"I thought I was off the case," he said.

Mike shrugged. "Lawson wants your _opinion_ on a new development," he said, over emphasizing 'opinion'. "In other words, he figured out this isn't just a few little fires to put out."

"Well what is it?" Ryan asked impatiently.

"We got into Joe's laptop," Mike said. "There were videos of you and Molly…"

Ryan sighed. "Of course there were," he said sardonically. "Because Joe was a twisted, sick-minded son of a bitch. Anything else?"

Mike explained the video and the document they found and he watched Ryan go from annoyed to shocked in a matter of moments. When Mike finished, Ryan was leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths and shaking his head. "So we were right, eh? Emma and Molly are trying to get the ball rolling again."

Mike was quiet after this. A thought was forming in the back of his mind. He was mentally re-watching the video of Joe, catching details he hadn't before. But he still wasn't sure…

"Stop thinking so loud," Ryan said after a moment and Mike was jolted back into reality.

"Sorry?"

"You were thinking of something," Ryan clarified. "What was it?"

Mike shook his head. "I'm not sure yet. But I don't think Joe is dead."

.

...

.

**A/N:** So yeah... Sorry about the wait again. We've been having hellish internet problems.

But what do you think? There are two really big things I can see happening in the second season and Joe coming back is one of them. The other is something to come in much later chapters.

And again, thank you all for reading! Constructive criticism is appreciated.


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